Beyond the Sacred Page:

Supplementary Material in 19th

century American Bibles,

especially as found in The Bible in America Museum collection

by

Diana Lynn Severance, Ph.D.1

The story is told that in early 19th

century New England, a great discussion arose in a church

when a member suggested that during the Sabbath service, in addition to the sermon, a selection from

the Bible be read aloud. Everyone in the congregation had an opinion, and the deacons sat aside a

special meeting to consider whether or not it was proper to read aloud from the Bible during the service.

At the deacons‟ meeting, the discussion went on for some time, when one deacon suddenly held up his

bible and exclaimed triumphantly, “Look, it says right here on the very first page, „authorized to be read

in the churches.‟” The deacons were relieved that an answer with biblical support had been found for

the question, seeming not to realize that this phrase found on the title page of many King James Version

English bibles was not really part of the original Bible.2 This amusing story illustrates that there is often

much in our printed bibles that is not strictly Biblical.

Not only is the format of our printed bibles very different from the earliest manuscripts of

Scripture, which had no chapters and verses, no spaces between words, and no punctuation marks; but a

tremendous amount of additional matter is often printed and bound with the Scriptures.

Before the advent of printing, bible manuscripts often included additional matter, from the highly

illuminated decorations to glosses which sometimes consumed more of a page than the Scripture text

itself. The glosses or commentaries had accumulated over the centuries, incorporating comments by

some of the earliest church fathers as well as later scholastics. Prologues and introductory material by

1 Dr. Severance received her Ph.D. in history from Rice University and is Director of the Dunham Bible Museum.

2 The Holy Bible, published in parallelism with philological explanatory Annotation, ed. T.W. Coit, D.D. Boston, 1834,

Preface. Most of the American bibles referenced are in the collection of Houston Baptist University‟s The Bible in America

Museum.

2

St. Jerome were a part of many Vulgate manuscripts. Tables, almanacs, and charts for the liturgical use

of Scripture were also included.3

Additional matter in the English Wycliffe bibles varied from manuscript to manuscript, but, like

their Vulgate counterparts, many had prologues before the books and tables of epistles and gospels for

church use. Some included translations of Jerome‟s letters to Paulinus and to Desiderius. Since the

division of the Scripture into chapters had been made about 1250, the Wycliffe bibles had chapter

divisions. Some included drawings of a hand out in the margin, pointing to an especially noteworthy

passage.4 Early printings of the Bible also included supplementary material, pictorial as well as

verbal. The subject of bible illustrations is fascinating, even if sometimes salacious and bizarre, but the

focus here will be on the written additions. A folio bible printed in Germany in 1480 was probably the

first to have summaries placed at the head of each chapter. 15th

century German publishers added other

features to their bibles as well, including an interpretive list of Hebrew names, a guide to the Bible‟s

contents, a list of canonical books, marginal references, and a table of scriptural readings for the

liturgical year.5 In 1486 the Press of Strassburg printed the first bible with a title page – though this title

page lacked that authorization to be read in the churches our New Englanders welcomed in their

deacons‟ meeting. Some bibles were printed with a history of the text of Scripture and a section on

medieval exegesis.

The earliest printed English bibles also included supplementary material. William Tyndale’s

1534 New Testament included his “Unto the Reader” and prologues to each of the Epistles. At the end

of the Testament he included a table of the scriptural readings from the Salisbury plan of the liturgical

year. On the very last page, Tyndale included brief explanations of 5 passages of Scripture. Bluntly

3 Valerie R. Hotchkiss & Charles Ryrie, ed. Formatting the Word. Dallas, Texas: Bridwell Library, 1998, 34-39.

4 David Daniell. The Bible in English. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2003, 84.

5 S.L. Greenslade. The Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press, 1963, 419-421.

3

honest, Tyndale wrote, “These things have I added to fill up the leaf withal.” This would not be the last

time publishers added material to their bibles simply because there were a few blank pages at the end.6

Matthew’s Bible of 1537 was the first English bible to include extensive notes. Over 2000 notes,

taken from the writings of Tyndale, Coverdale, Luther, Lefevre, Olivetan, and Bucer presented a

distinctly Protestant Reformation perspective. Though dedicated to Henry VIII, the King quickly issued

a royal injunction forbidding the printing or importation of English Bibles with notes or prologues

without the King‟s authorization.7 In addition to the notes, Matthew’s Bible included two tables found

in many later Bibles, including American ones: French theologian Olivetan‟s 26 page “Table of the

Principal Matters contained in the Bible” and a “Brief rehearsal of the years passed since the beginning

of the world unto this year of our Lord.”

The Great Bible of 1539, which was ordered placed in every church in England, dropped many

of the provocative notes from Matthew’s Bible to which the King and his ministers objected. However,

the 1560 Geneva Bible, published by the English Marian exiles in Calvin‟s Geneva, had more notes and

additional matter than any previous English bible. The Geneva Bible is important to the American story

since it was the bible most likely used by many at Jamestown and definitely used among the Pilgrims

and early Puritans of Massachusetts. It was a bible designed to be studied and read carefully; and

included headnotes to each page, summary arguments to each book and chapter, and brief notes at the

hard to understand parts. For the first time in English, chapters were divided into verses, making a

concordance a useful study tool. Illustrations were added, not for decoration, but to enhance

understanding – drawings of the furniture of the tabernacle, maps of the Exodus wandering, sketches of

Ezekiel‟s visions.

6 Tyndale’s New Testament, ed. David Daniell. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1989.

7 Rev. Henry Cotton. Editions of the Bible and Parts Thereof in English from the Year MDV to MDCCCL. Oxford

University Press, 1852, 277-293.

4

Several tables found in earlier bibles on the continent were also included – chronological tables

and “the Principal things contained in the Scriptures.” The table of the interpretation of Hebrew names

found in German bibles almost one hundred years earlier was included, but the Geneva Bible provided a

reason for its importance:

Whereas the wickedness of time, and the blindness of the former age hath suche that all

things altogether have bene abused and corrupted, so that the very right names of diverse

holie men named in the Scriptures have been forgotten, and now seme strange unto us,

and the names of infants that shulde ever have some godlie advertisements in them, and

shulde be memorials and markes of the children of God received into his housholde, hath

been hereby also changed and made the signes and badges of idolatrie and heathenish

impietie, we have now set forthe this table of the names that be most used in the olde

Testament with their interpretations, as the Ebrewe importeth, partly to call backe the

godlie fro that abuse, when they shal know the true names of the godlie fathers, & what

they signifie, that their children now named after them may have testimonies by their

very names, that they are within that faithful familie that in all their doings had ever God

before their eyes, and that they are bounde by these their names to serve God from their

infancie & have occasion to praise him for his workes wrought in them & their fathers:

but chiefly to restore the names to their integrities, whereby many places of the Scriptures

and secret mysteries of the holie Gost shal better be understand.8

This table of Hebrew names continued to be printed in American bibles well into the 19th

century.

Knowing this helps us better understand why and how so many colonial Puritans had obscure names

from the Old Testament.

The 1569 edition of the Geneva Bible also included: a cycle of the Sun, Declaration of the

Golden Number (to determine the age of the moon), Faires in France, and additional historical material

on the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the Maccabees and intertestamental period. Later editions

included even more extensive notes, reflecting the Calvinistic theology and politics of the English exiles

in Geneva.9

The Geneva Bible was extremely popular, but it was never approved by the Church of England,

as was the 1568 Bishops’ Bible. Though it lacked the extensive notes of the Geneva Bible, the Bishops’

8 The Bible and Holy Scriptures. Geneva: Rouland Hall, 1560.

9 Editions of the Bible, 294-304.

5

Bible unsurprisingly included helps important for the liturgical year – proper lessons for Sunday and

holy days, proper psalms on certain days, a 30 year almanac to calculate the date of Easter, and holy

days to be observed. Among the tables was one regularly included in later American bibles – a table of

consanguinity and affinity, determining in which kinship relations marriage was forbidden.10

When John Reynolds presented to King James I the proposal for a new Bible translation at the

Hampton Court Conference of 1604, the king was quite amenable – only if the bible was without notes.

King James especially opposed the Geneva Bible, considering its notes “partial, untrue, seditious, and

favouring too much trayterous conceits.” He even gave chapter and verse to support his claim that the

Geneva Bible was anti-monarchical. His objections began with the note on Exodus 1:19, which praised

the Hebrew midwives for not killing the Hebrew babies, thus approving the disobedience to Kings and

sovereign princes.11

Though the bible printed in 1611 and dedicated to King James did not contain Geneva‟s

troublesome notes, it did contain supplemental material. In addition to the “Dedication to the King” and

the “Address of the Translators to the Reader,” the 1611 bible included a calendar, an almanac with a

table to find Easter, tables of psalms and lessons, with the days to be observed, names and orders of the

books, a 36 page table of the genealogy of Scripture, a map of Canaan, and marginal notes. As the

century progressed, later editions of what we now call the King James Version were printed with

additional notes, marginal references, and tables. In perfect irony, several editions were even printed

with notes from the Geneva Bible.12

10

Editions of the Bible, 304. 11

P. Heylyn, Aerius Redivivus. The History of the Presbyterians, 2nd

ed. (London, 1672) Book Six, p. 214, quoted in

Maurice S. Betteridge. “The Bitter Notes: The Geneva Bible and Its Annotations,” Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 14, no.1

(Spring, 1983), 48-49. 12

Editions of the Bible, 305-306; The Minutes of the Report on Versions. American Bible Society, 36th

Report, 1852;

“Bibles, Annotated, and Bible Summaries,” New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 2, 158-159, as

accessed through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org.

6

Throughout the American colonial period, the printing of English bibles remained under the

King‟s authority, and all English bibles in America were imported from the Mother country. After

1776, American printers began printing bibles for the first time and included much of the additional

material which had been included in bibles printed in England. This additional material was to aid the

individual‟s reading of the bible in five areas – basic Bible content, chronology and time of the Bible‟s

events, historical and geographical setting of the Bible, theological perspective, and practical

application.

Much of the supplementary material was devoted to basic Bible content. A list of the names of

the books of the Old and New Testaments with the number of chapters in each showed which books

were accepted as canonical Scripture. Page headings, chapter summaries and paragraph notations

helped the reader remember key ideas and search for particular passages. “The Contents of the books of

the Old and New Testaments,” first published in Matthew’s Bible in 1537, was first published in an

American bible in 1823, almost three hundred years later, and continued to be included in bibles

throughout the 19th

century.13

The “Contents” gave a brief title to each chapter in the Bible, enabling the

reader to read through a summary of the entire Bible in eight pages or less, depending on the size of the

bible.

An “Index of the Holy Bible,” first published in printer Isaiah Thomas‟ 1791 folio and published

throughout the following century, gave an account of the key passages of Scripture from Adam to Christ

and the apostles. It also included historical background and specific dates of events. Many bibles

included a concordance. John Brown‟s concordance was the one most often included in the 19th

century.

13

The Holy Bible. Stereotyped by E. White, New York. Philadelphia: Kimber & Sharpless, {1823].

7

“The Old and New Testament Dissected,” first included in printer Matthew Carey‟s 1801 bible

and in many thereafter, is a real curiosity.14

This is a detailed analysis of words and letters in the bible,

all calculated in the pre-computer age. In this table are included such tidbits as: the word “Jehovah”

occurs 6,855 times; the word “and” occurs 35,543 times in the Old Testament and 10, 684 times in the

New Testament; the middle verse of the bible is II Chron. 20:17; the New Testament contains 181,253

words and 838,380 letters. Who would have had the time or even bothered to count and calculate all

these letters and words? An old newspaper clipping found between the pages of a bible in The Bible in

America Museum‟s said that the statistics were compiled by the Prince of Granada, heir to the Spanish

throne, during his life imprisonment in the Palace of Skulls, Madrid. The Prince had only one book, the

Bible, to read during his 33 years of solitary confinement in the prison. Upon his death, the statistics

were found written on all the walls of his prison cell. Though an expert in Bible trivia, there is no

evidence the Prince‟s soul was affected by the Bible‟s message.

“A Table of the several passages in the Old Testament quoted by Christ and his Apostles in the

New Testament” first appeared in Matthew Carey‟s 1803 quarto Bible.15

This table went through the

Old Testament book by book and listed every passage quoted and gave the New Testament passage

where it was quoted. Baltimore printer John Hagerty in 1812 was the first American printer to include a

“Synopsis of the Holy Bible or Brief Commentary on the several books contained in the Old and New

Testaments.” The synopsis consisted of paragraph summaries of each of the books in the Bible,

including the meaning of the name of the book, summary of the book‟s contents, and the book‟s spiritual

import.

The most frequent supplement to aid an understanding of the Bible‟s content were the marginal

Scriptural references. In 1647 John Canne (c. 1590-d. 1667?), an English minister and later a Brownist

14

The Holy Bible. Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1801. 15

The Holy Bible. Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1803.

8

who took refuge in Amsterdam, issued a fully cross-referenced bible, The Bible with Marginal Notes,

Shewing Scripture to be the Best Interpreter of Scripture. Canne‟s work went through 9 editions

between 1662 and 1754. In 1664, the first King James Version was issued with Canne‟s notes and a

preface by John Cannes. Canne‟s references were first used in an American Bible in 1807 and

continued to be used in numerous American bibles in the 19th

century. In time, however, the references

were added to and diluted with misprints and false references. However, using the Bible to interpret

itself continued to be a goal of Bible students throughout the century.16

A second category of supplementary material was devoted to chronology and time. These

supplements helped the reader see the chronological relationship between the various events of the bible

and their own day. Biblical events were precursors and in a stream with events in the readers own day

and age. Matthew Carey‟s 1801 edition included “A Chronological Index of the Years and Times from

Adam unto Christ, Proved by the Scriptures, from the collection of divers authors.” This Index largely

followed the chronology of Archbishop Ussher and divided the history of the world into 7 ages. It

carefully noted that the coming of Christ occurred 483 years from the decree of Cyrus to rebuild the

temple, following Daniel‟s prophecy, and computed the age of the world down to 1801, concluding:

“Whereupon we reckon, that from Adam unto Christ, are 3974 years, six months, and ten days; and from

the birth of Christ, unto this present year, is 1801.”17

Bible readers of the 19th

century saw their world in

a continuum with the Biblical world. Archbishop Ussher‟s chronology was first included in a King

James Version Bible in 1680. In the 1701 revision of the King James Version, Bishop Lloyd placed

Usher‟s chronological dates at the head of each column. These dates continued to be routinely placed in

bibles well into the second half of the twentieth century.18

Isaac Collins‟ 1791 bible included an

16

“Bibles, annotated, and Bible Summaries,” 159; Margaret Hills, The English Bible in America. New York: The American

Bible Society and The New York Public Library, 1962, 25. 17

The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments. Philadelphia: Printed for Mathew Carey, 1801. 18

“Bibles, Annotated, and Bible Summaries,” 159.

9

“Account of the Dates or Time of Writing the Books of the New Testament.”19

This table was prepared

by John Witherspoon the President of Princeton. Witherspoon placed Matthew as the earliest book

written, in 39 AD, and has John writing between 94-98AD. Though this feature was included in many

later bibles, others often assigned different dates for the various books.

Closely related to additions related to chronology are those related to history and geography.

One of the attacks upon the Bible‟s authenticity made by skeptics, of that day and since, was that the

Biblical writings were more mythical than historical. To counter such criticisms, 19th

century American

bibles included an increasing array of supplements enhancing an understanding of the historical and

geographical setting for biblical events. Isaiah Thomas‟ 1791 folio bible, and numerous bibles to

follow, included a table relating to Roman and Jewish treatment of time. What was meant by the ninth

hour? How did the Jewish month Nisan correspond to the American months? The table on time

answered those questions.

The 1640 German Ernestine bible was the first to have a table of Scripture measure, weights and

coins. Dr. Cumberland, bishop of Peterborough, created a comparable table used in many English and

American bibles. The table showed the measures of length, surfaces, capacity, weights, and also showed

how to refigure such measurements in English units. This table helped the reader determine the English

equivalent of a cubit and an ephah. (Incidentally, Dr. Cumberland was a Cambridge Platonist who died

at the age of 87, in 1719. If you have never heard of him before, you probably have heard of his most

famous quote, “It is better to wear out than to rust out.”)

Maps were included in many bibles. In the earliest bibles, maps were often quite decorative and

stylistic. As the 19th

century progressed, they became more scientific and accurate.20

Many bibles also

included an article describing the geography of “Judea, Palestine, or the Holy Land.”

19

The Holy Bible. Trenton, New Jersey: Isaac Collins, 1791. 20

Paul Gutjahr. An American Bible. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1999, 63-69.

10

A table of “Offices and Conditions of Men” was one of the most frequent additions to early

American bibles. Often, when there was just one blank page at the end of a testament or bible, a printer

included this supplement. The table listed the various titles of leaders and their functions, from patriarch

to Persian Tirshatha, from religious sects such as the Herodians, to ecclesiastical leaders such as

Apostles. Such tables helped the reader understand the Bible in its literal sense. These terms were the

titles and positions of literal, historic people, not allegorical or mythical inventions.

Bibles sometimes included supplements on post-Biblical Christian history. Matthew Carey‟s

1801 bible, and numerous quarto bibles patterned after it, included a “Brief chronological Catalogue of

the Apostles and their Successors, who founded and presided over the Five Grand Apostolical

Churches.” Based largely on the writings of the church historian Eusebius, this catalogue gave the

names of the leaders and years they served in the churches of Antioch, Rome, Jerusalem, Byzantium or

Constantinople, and Alexandria, through the time of the Council of Nicea. One motive for including

this material might have been to show that the Church at Rome was not considered the supreme church

at that time. Opening with the church at Antioch, the catalogue records:

It is generally acknowledged by the Romish writers, that a church was founded here by St. Peter

some considerable time before that at Rome; and partly because here it was that the venerable

name of Christians first commenced. The fathers in the council at Constantinople … style the

church of Antioch, The most ancient and truly apostolical; and S. Chrysostom, The head of the

whole world.21

John Holbrook‟s 1817 quarto bible published in Brattleborough, Vermont included “An Account

of the Lives, Sufferings, and Martyrdoms, of the Apostles and Evangelists,” which was included in

many other bibles in the 19th

century. This gave a brief account of the lives and deaths of leaders of the

early church, from the martyrdom of Stephen, through the lives of the 11 apostles, Paul and Barnabas.

Several school bibles later included this account as a supplement.

21

The Holy Bible. Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1801.

11

The “To the Reader” included in many 19th

century American bibles was written by John

Witherspoon for Isaac Collins‟ 1791 bible as a replacement for the “Dedication to King James” at the

front of the King James bibles. Newly independent Americans did not want a dedication to a King of

England at the front of their bibles. Witherspoon‟s introduction was basically a history of the formation

of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament and the providential preservation of these Scriptures. He

surveyed the history of bible translations, beginning with the Greek Septuagint and the earliest

translations of the Christian Scriptures before focusing on the English translations, concluding with the

translation sponsored by King James.

A fourth category of supplemental material was theological. There were few supplements in this

category except for bibles which included commentaries, which will be considered shortly. One

supplement, however, in a few American bibles, was “A Concise View of the evidences of the Christian

Religion” by Rev. John Fletcher, a French speaking Swiss who became an Anglican priest and a leading

theologian of early Methodism22

. For a time Fletcher had been considered the successor to John

Wesley, but preceded Wesley in death, dying in 1785. Matthew Carey included Fletcher‟s essay on

evidences in his 1805 quarto edition of the Bible, twenty years after Fletcher‟s death. In his essay

Fletcher answered some of the critics of the Bible and the followers of the Enlightenment who rejected

the Bible‟s, and thus Christianity‟s, veracity and authority. He noted that thousands of Jews would not

have humbled themselves to embrace a shameful cross and face death themselves unless they were

totally convinced of the truth of Jesus‟ claims. Writers of the Bible were not seeking glory, position, or

wealth. They were not deceivers, but humble men who even exposed their own faults to the world in

their writings. The miracles of Jesus and the apostles testified to their words. The facts of these

miracles were never denied by contemporaries, only attributed to the devil by gainsayers and scoffers.

22

The Holy Bible. Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1805; A.W. Ward & A.R. Waller, ed. The Cambridge History of English

and American Literature. New York: Putnam, 1907-1921, vol. 10, 19-21. [N.Y.: Bartleby.com, 2000].

12

As in the earliest days of the church, Fletcher argued that the fulfillment of Scriptural prophecies

attested to their divine source. Not only the many prophecies which Jesus himself fulfilled in His life

and death, but also the four kingdoms of Daniel‟s prophecies, prophecies of the destruction of the temple

and Jerusalem, Jesus‟ own prophecies of the persecution of His disciples, and the scattering and

suffering of Jews as described by Moses 3000 years ago in Deuteronomy 28. In a more personal way,

the efficacy of Scripture could be seen in its power to wound, make alive, and heal the soul. In view of

the fact that Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, even being adopted by the educated

among the Greeks and Romans, Fletcher thought it was as absurd to think the apostles and writers of

Scripture were cheats, liars, and frauds as to think that the sailors of the British Empire “sink men of war

with a puff of breath, while our soldiers batter down ramparts with snow-balls.”23

Beginning in 1578 the Geneva Bible had a poem “Of the incomparable Treasure of the Holy

Scriptures” followed by a prayer for the true use of the Scriptures. A few American bibles, such as the

1794 edition of William Burkitt‟s Expository Notes also included a prayer to be said before reading the

Scriptures. Reading the Scriptures was a spiritual, not just an intellectual exercise. The prayer asked for

the assistance of the Holy Spirit in understanding, receiving the Scripture‟s teachings, and daily

endeavouring to follow “the blessed steps of his [Jesus‟] most holy life.”24

This leads to a final category of supplementary material in bibles, practical application. How

was the way one lived to be affected by the Bible? The previously mentioned “Table of Kindred and

Affinity wherein whosoever are related are forbidden in Scripture and by our Laws, to marry together”

would fall in this category. Amazingly, bibles which have no supplementary material at all often

included this table on the last page of the bible or testament. This, along with the table of names of

23

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments. Printed and Published by Mathew Carey, 1805. 24

William Burkitt. Expository Notes With Practical Observations upon the Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherein

the Whole of the Sacred Text is Recited, the Sense Explained, and the instructive Example of the Blessed Jesus, and his Apostles, to

our Imitation: recommended. New Haven: Abel Morse for the David Austin of Elizabethtown, 1794.

13

offices, was the most frequent table in 19th

century American bibles. Matthew Carey‟s 1801 bible

included “A Clergyman‟s Address to Married Persons at the Altar.” This marriage sermon explained the

duties of husband and wife, noting that it was the joining not of hands but of hearts that constituted

marriage in God‟s sight. The last paragraph concluded:

In a word, be habitually loving and kind to one another. Have no separate secrets, nor

allow yourselves any airs of mystery; but open your whole hearts to each other. Conceal

as much as possible one another‟s foibles, and cultivate habits of affability, forbearance,

and good nature. Never be sullen, or in a pet with each other, especially in the presence

of strangers. And, to say all in all, love and live together as the heirs of glory; and may

the richest blessings of Almighty God be your mutual portion in this world and the next.25

In his 1802 quarto edition, as well as a few later editions, Matthew Carey also included William

Cowper‟s “Portrait of an Apostolic Preacher.”

A bible published by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1829 was among the first to

include William Stones‟ “A Guide to Regular Perusal of the Holy Scriptures.26

” Stones outlined

a plan of daily Bible reading in which the New Testament was read twice in a year and the Old

Testament once. Daily personal and family Bible reading was a regular practice for many

Americans in the 19th

century. Many came to know large sections of the Scriptures by memory

simply from having read through the Bible in this regular fashion.

William Burkitt prefaced his Expository Notes with an “Address to Family Governors.”

Burkitt particularly designed his notes to be used by families during their daily devotions. He

wrote:

My design in preparing and giving these notes into your hands, is to oblige you to

read a part of the Holy Scriptures in your families every day; and to invite you

thereunto, the sacred text is here at large recited and controversies declined. And I

do most affectionately request you, not to suffer the holy word of God, which is in

25

The Holy Bible. Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1801. 26

The Holy Bible. Stereotyped James Connor, New York. New York: J. Emory and B. W: the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the

Conference Office, 1829. Margaret Hills notes this was first included in an 1826 bible. English Bible in America, 86.

14

your hands, to lie by you as a neglected book; but daily to read it in and to your

families, with a simplicity of mind to be directed and instructed by it.

William Burkitt, a vicar and lecturer in Dedham, England, lived from 1659-1703. Ninety years

after his death his annotated bible was first published in America. As late as 1844, an American

reviewer wrote of Burkitt‟s Notes, “The humble Christian who wishes to understand the Gospel and

make it the foundation of his hopes for eternity will find the book one of his best and closest

companions.”27

Burkitt was only one of several seventeenth and eighteenth century English ministers whose

annotated bibles or commentaries continued to be published in America well into the nineteenth century.

The annotated bibles read by 19th

century Americans were largely written in the previous century by

English ministers still under the Puritan influence or part of the 18th

century revival. Like Burkitt, many

of the commentators sought to avoid controversial disputes on doctrine in their notes. Their notes were

to help clarify the text, not impose a theological system. They aimed to edify the humble soul who had

not time or resources to spend pouring over scholarly works. They wrote with the strong Protestant

conviction stemming from the Reformation that every individual Christian was able to read and

understand the Scriptures.28

Leading commentators published in 19th

century America were Jean Ostervald, Philip

Doddridge, John Brown, and Thomas Scott. A brief look at each of these individuals and their work

will provide a better understanding of the framework Americans used in reading their bibles.

Jean Ostervald, who lived from 1663-1747, was a preacher in Neuchatel, Switzerland. In his

preaching and writing he tried to replace a preoccupation with doctrinal disputes with personal piety and

genuine Gospel preaching. On his pastoral visits he discovered great ignorance and indifference among

his flock, prompting him to write The Arguments of the Books and Chapters of the Old and New

27

“Literary Notices,” New England and Yale Review, vol. 2, Issue 8 (October, 1844), 638.

15

Testaments, with practical observations. The Society for the Propagating Christian Knowledge had

Ostervald‟s notes translated into English, and they were incorporated into several Bible printings.29

Ostervald‟s notes were first used in an American printing by Isaac Collins in 1791 and continued to be

used in various American Bibles at least into the 1820‟s. These notes were in the bible from which

Abraham Lincoln learned to read (The Lincoln Family Bible is now in the Abe Lincoln Birthplace in

Kentucky, administered by the National Park Service). In his introduction, Ostervald explained the

“Necessity and Usefulness of Reading the Holy Scriptures:”

Christians are utterly inexcusable who have it in their power to read the Word of God,

and will not do it. God, in his infinite wisdom, and unbounded goodness, hath supplied

men, by the revelation of his will, with the most perfect means of instruction. He

inspired the prophets and apostles, and was pleased their writings should be preserved,

that in them truth might always remain pure, without being corrupted by the forgetfulness

and inconstancy, the carelessness or malice of men. The Scriptures, therefore, are the

most valuable blessing God ever bestowed upon us, except the sending his Son into the

world; they are a treasure containing every thing that can make us truly rich and truly

happy. We must therefore, have very little regard for God and his gifts, if we neglect to

make a right use of this…30

We know Lincoln read Ostervald‟s notes as well as the Bible itself, because when a group of black

leaders presented him with a bible during the Civil War, in his letter thanking them, he paraphrased

Ostervald: “In regard to this Great Book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All

the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not

know right from wrong. All things most desireable for man‟s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be

found portrayed in it.”31

28

Marion Simms. The Bible in America. New York: Wilson-Erickson, 1936, 131-134. 29

“Osterwald, Jean Frederic,” New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. VIII, 283. 30

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Together with the Apocrypha; and Arguments Prefixed to the Different

Books: With Moral and Theological Observations Illustrating each Chapter. Composed by the Reverend Mr. Ostervald, professor of

Divinity, and one of the Ministers of the Church at Neuchatel Swisserland [sic]. Translated at the desire of, and recommended by the

Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge. New York: Smith & Forman, George Long, Printer, 1813. 31

Paul M. Angle & Earl Schenck Miers, ed. The Living Lincoln. New York: Barnes & Noble books, 1955, 618-619.

Lincoln‟s parents‟ Bible is now in the National Park Service Abe Lincoln Birthplace in Kentucky.

www.npw.gov/abli/biblej.htm, accessed August 29, 2004.

16

Ostervald emphasized that the Bible should be read privately to better be understood when

hearing it preached. The reason many had entirely false and impious notions was because people did not

know the Scriptures. In discussing how the Bible was to be read for edification, Ostervald said it should

be read with attention, without passion disordering the heart and with deliberation or unhurriedly.

Reading the Bible frequently and diligently allowed for more meditation. The Bible was spiritual food

and should be taken daily. In reading, keep in mind the designs of the writers and avoid perverting the

texts of Scripture. For example, there are speeches of the wicked included in Scripture, but these are not

to be followed. Consider what is useful for instruction. We are to be doers of the Word, not mere

observers, so we must consider how the Scriptures can excite us to piety. God‟s Word must be obeyed

more than personal passions or inclinations; it should be read with submission and obedience. Read

Scripture prayerfully, with a love of truth and virtue.

Philip Doddridge, an English nonconformist who lived from 1702-1751 was a preacher, hymn

writer, and author of the influential Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, a work instrumental in the

salvation of statesman William Wilberforce. His Family Expositor and Version of the New Testament

was actually a paraphrase. The Gospels were harmonized and published as a harmony, rather than in

individual books. Critical notes explaining the text were at the bottom of the page, and at the end of

each section were notes on “Improvement,” or practical application. The first American edition of the

Family Expositor was published in 1833, over 90 years after the work was first published in England.

The American edition included an introduction by the American theologian Moses Stuart, professor of

sacred literature at Andover Seminary, and a memoir of the author by N.W. Fisher, professor of Greek at

Amherst.32

32

English Bible in America, 26, 125; “Doddridge, Philip,” New Schaff-Herzog Enclyclopedia, vol, III, 464; The Family Expositor; or

a Paraphrase and Version of the New Testament: With Critical Notes and a Practical Improvement to each Section. By Philip

Doddridge, D.D. American Edition. With a Memoir of the author by N. W. Fiske, professor of Greek and Belles Lettres in Amherst

17

John Q. Adams mentioned Doddridge‟s work in a letter he wrote to his son Charles Francis:

In your letter of the 18th

January to your mother, you mentioned that you read to your

aunt a chapter of the Bible or a section of Doddridge‟s Annotations every evening. This

information gave me real pleasure; for so great is my veneration for the Bible, and so

strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it is of all books in the world,

that which contributes most to make men good, wise and happy – that the earlier my

children begin to read it, the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it

throughout their lives, the more lively and confident will be my hope that they will prove

useful citizens of their country, respectable members of society and a real blessing to

their parents…”33

Interestingly, this letter was written in 1811, over twenty years before the Family Expositor was

published in America, showing that English printings of bibles had a ready market in America in the

early 19th

century. Undoubtedly the reason many American printers reprinted English annotated bibles

was because they were aware of the ready market such works already had.

John Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible was one of the most long-lived of the early American

annotated bibles. Brown, who lived from 1722-1787, was the orphaned son of a weaver in Abernathy,

Scotland. He taught himself Latin and Greek while keeping sheep and later taught himself Hebrew. In

fact, for a period of time, one minister spread the suspicion of witchcraft against Brown for his learning

these languages when he had little formal schooling. Brown studied for the ministry, came to

Haddington in 1751 and remained there until his death 36 years later. In his numerous writings, he

sought to be practical and helpful to people who wanted to know the Scripture, but had not the time or

skill for deep, personal investigations for themselves.34

Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible was first published in 1778 in Edinburgh. In his own inimitable

way, David Daniell commented on the title of this bible:

College; and an Introductory Essay, by Moses Stuart, professor of Sacred Literature in the, Theological Seminary at Andover. With a

Portrait, engraved from al Original Picture at picture in Wymondley house. Amherst: S. & C Adams, and L. Boltwood, 1834.

. 33

James L. Allen. Letters of John Quincy Adams to his Son on the Bible and Its Teachings, 1850, 621. 34

“Memoir of John Brown,” New Self-Interpreting Bible Library. 1914, 14; A.T. Robertson. The Minister and His Greek

New Testament, 1923, 103-108; “John brown of Haddington,” New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, 277.

18

In some modern Testaments and Bibles the commentaries, annotation, even

translation (many of them paraphrase) are often directed in slant. They will be bought, the

publishers hope, for personal, even solipsistic, reasons. There are Bibles and testaments

for the various stages of marriage and break-up, for the first year of divorce, for older

women, for those suffering business failure, for those in therapy, for everyone looking for

a quick fix of Personal Truth. Niche marketing must surely be a slippery slope.

It was not like that as the American nation was formed, when „Self-Interpreting‟

meant interpretation for oneself, not interpretation of oneself.35

The first American printing of Brown‟s Bible was a folio edition published in New York in 1792, with

George Washington listed at the head of the subscriber‟s list. This subscription edition was published in

40 numbers in a period of 2 years.

Brown’s Self-Interpreting Bible want through at least 26 American editions, with the New

Testament being last published in the 1920‟s. Later editions included expansions and additions by later

Biblical scholars. A history could be written on the illustrations included in this bible over the years,

and one can‟t help but wonder what John Brown would have thought about their inclusion. The

frontispiece of the first American edition pictured Columbia as a lady with an Indian headdress. In her

left hand she holds the Constitution; with her right hand she receives the Bible from Peace, kneeling

before her. The names of American patriots were written on a liberty tree behind her.36

In this way,

America became part of the biblical world. The 1806 edition had 24 plates, several of which were quite

brutal. One showed Joab stabbing Abner, with little cherubs above acting out the murder, above a tragic

mask. Another showed the assassination of Benhadad by Hazael. The 1822 New York folio had for its

frontispiece a very licentious picture of Davis spying on Bathsheba. As Dr. Daniell wondered, “How can

that disreputable incident with its shabby consequences be thought for a moment to represent the content

of God‟s saving Word?”37

An 1836 printing had a much more appropriate frontispiece, showing Moses

35

Bible in English, 601. 36

The Self Interpreting Bible, Containing, The Sacred of the Old and New Testaments. By the late Reverend John Brown,

Minister of Gospel at Haddington. New York: Hodge and Campbell, 1792. All quotes of the Self-Interpreting Bible are taken

from this edition. 37

The Bible in English, 602.

19

pointing to Christ carrying the cross with Deuteronomy 18:15, “unto him ye shall listen.” The

illustrations of the 1896 and last edition, which continued to be published until 1908, no longer included

such questionable illustrations, but rather included “over four hundred Photographs Showing the Places

of the Bible events as they appear today.”38

Brown‟s bible included explanatory notes placed at the bottom of the page with the scriptural

text above. These notes, focusing primarily on translation issues, grammar or historical background,

were primarily to make the text more understandable. The notes for each section were followed by

“reflections,” which applied the Scripture to the heart. Throughout his work Brown emphasized that the

goal of Scripture was to promote holiness and virtue and to glorify God. Dates and Scripture cross-

references were placed in the margin. Brown himself believed these Scriptural references were the most

important part of his bible. In his introduction he wrote:

as every Protestant must allow the scripture itself to be its own best interpreter…the

uncommon collection of Parallel Scriptures, such as is not to be found anywhere else that

I know of, has formed the most laborious, and will, to the diligent peruser, be found by

far the most valuable, part of the work…this itself is a harmony of Scripture, a

Concordance and a large commentary more certain than any dictates of man….I can truly

say, that my labor, in collecting the parallel texts in this work, has afforded me much

more Pleasant Insight into the oracles of God than all the numerous commentaries which

I ever perused.

Brown firmly believed that Scripture was the best interpreter of Scripture:

The inexpressible advantage which attends it will infinitely more than compensate the

toil. Herein the serious inquirer has the Spirit of God for his director, the lovely oracles

of God for his commentary. He has the pleasure of discovering the truth for himself in

God‟s own light. And the discovery which he thus makes, by humbly searching the

Scriptures, is inexpressibly more agreeable than merely to have met with it at random in

some commentator. Being acquired by care and labour, it generally fixes itself much

more firmly in the mind, And, while we are thus occupied in comparing the several texts,

we may humbly expect that the Holy Ghost will illuminate all with his glory, and apply

all to the heart.

38

English Bible in America, 320, 9, 283-284, 290; Bible in English, 600-603.

20

John Brown‟s Introduction, consisting of 27 folio pages, discussed in some depth the divine

authority of Scripture, the rules for understanding Scripture, and the relationship of Christianity to the

Jewish laws. In addition, he gave an overview of the geography and history of nations, including a

history of the church from its earliest days, through the middle ages and Reformation. He assured his

readers that the Turks and the anti-Christ, the chief opponents of Christianity, will finally be extirpated

and the millennium be ushered in, either in 1866 or 2016. He thus outlined a sweeping view of history

which included his own day and beyond.

In his treatment of the divine authority of Scripture, Brown simply presented the history of the

Scriptures and the evidences for their truthfulness, using arguments similar to arguments we have seen

in earlier supplementary material. Brown also carefully elaborated on how the reader should read and

understand Scripture. Reading the Bible was not simply an intellectual exercise but a spiritual one. The

reader should begin with prayer that the Holy Spirit would apply the Scripture to his heart. The

Scriptures should be searched earnestly with self-denial to know the power of God in them: “A deep

sense of our ignorance, and of our absolute need of Scripture influence, must animate us to the earnest

study of knowledge. He, who thinks that of himself he knows divine things to any purpose Knoweth

nothing as he ought to know – only with the lowly is wisdom.” Practice and application should be the

end of any bible study. It is the keeping of commandments, not simply the reading of them, that is

important.

Readers should proceed from the simplest to the more difficult, from the historical Old

Testament to the more doctrinal New Testament. Each Scripture must be understood within the scope of

the book within which it lies, whether it is history, poetry, or prophecy. Each Scripture must also be

understood within the general plan of the revealed truth; an overview of the main outlines of histories,

doctrines, and prophecies was important. Brown encouraged the reader not just to consider the abstract

21

meaning of a text, but how the spirit of God intended it in a particular connection. For example, the

glory of redeeming grace can best be understood in connection with abounding sin; man‟s wickedness is

acting against God. How words were joined together would help the reader understand these

connections; notice words like “and,” “then,” “therefore,” “because,” “in,” “to,” and “through.” Finally,

Christ Jesus was the end and subject of all Scripture, and the reader should look for Him there.

An 1874 American revision of Brown‟s Bible, with many additional notes, is quite interesting. It

includes the revision completed by Revs. Cooke and Porter, two Irish Presbyterians, as well as several

Americans, including C.P. Krauth, an Evangelical Lutheran; Rev. C.M. Butler, an Episcopalian and

chaplain of the U.S. Senate; and Rev. Alfred Nevin, a Presbyterian. As were the bibles of Ostervald,

Doddridge, and Scott, this was a bible not marked by denominational peculiarities, but acceptable to the

broader Protestant evangelical faith dominant in 19th century American.

Thomas Scott‟s Family Bible was the most popular of the annotated bibles in the 19th

century.

Thomas Scott‟s commentary was much more popular in 19th

century America than was Matthew

Henry‟s, though the two were similar in format and style. Thomas Scott, who lived from 1747-1821,

was a Unitarian priest who converted to Trinitarian faith through the influence of John Newton and the

study of the Scriptures themselves. This conversion led to the publication of his first book, The Force of

Truth in 1779, describing his conversion, itself an argument against Unitarianism. Scott in turn was

influential in the conversion of William Cowper, the poet and fellow-hymnwriter with Newton. Scott

was often cited as especially able to counter the Unitarian arguments of the day. His The Holy Bible

with Notes, first published in 174 weekly numbers between 1788 and 1792, was long considered the

model Family Bible. The first American edition was published in 1804. Between 1808-1819, 25, 250

copies were sold in the United States, and the commentary continued to be printed in its own right into

the 1870‟s. In American homes it stood right up there with the classics. When Harriet Beecher Stowe

22

described a New England home in her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, she wrote of the respectable old book

case with its glass doors in the “keeping room” “where Rollin‟s History, Milton‟s Paradise Lost,

Bunyan‟s Pilgrim‟s Progress, and Scott‟s Family Bible, stand side by side in decorous order, with

multitudes of other books, equally solemn and respectable.”39

Even Thomas Jefferson had a set of

Scott‟s Family Bible, which is now in the Library of Congress as part of Jefferson‟s original gift to the

Library. However, if Jefferson ever read the work, Scott‟s arguments against Unitarianism apparently

had no effect on him.40

Building upon Doddridge and Brown, Scott believed the Scripture was its own best interpreter.

He did not want to press Scripture into some pre-established theological system. Scott‟s bible did not

include the many tables and charts found in many family bibles of the day. A general preface and

prologue to each book set the Bible and each book in a wider context. Marginal notes concerned

language and translation issues and pertinent Scripture references. The Scripture itself was at the top of

the page with expository/explanatory notes at the bottom of the page and “Practical Observations” at the

end of each chapter. 41

As in the earlier works, Scott‟s introduction explained the divine inspiration of Scripture and

how the Scripture was to be received. He argued against those who said man could look inward and by

his own reason develop a moral religion. Those who rejected Christianity in favor of a rationalistic

religion actually had borrowed many of their ideas from Christianity rather than developing them from

innate reason. Their deistic religion could be found only in places where Christianity had first existed.

Scott contended that religion without Scripture was ignorant of God‟s glory and man‟s sin.

39

Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Boston: John P. Jewett, 1852, 226. 40

Bible in English, 632-635; English Bible in America, 20-21, 26, 31, 33, 43, 48-49, 77, 90, 96, 170, 173; “Scott, Thomas,”

Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia Vol. 11, 303. 41

The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments according to the Authorized Versions, with Original Notes, Practical

Observations, and Copious Marginal References. By Thomas Scott, Rector of Aston Sandford, Bucks. The First American, from the

Second London Edition, Improved and Enlarged. Philadelphia: Printed by and for William W. Woodward, 1804.

23

In his arguments for the divine inspiration of Scripture, Scott had four emphases not found in

earlier bibles. First, he said the very scope of prophecies made by many different writers over many

centuries and later being fulfilled spoke of inspiration. These prophecies outlined the history of the

world and showed the grand design of Providence. Second, the state of the world and the nature of man

as described in Scripture was not what the unaided mind, apart from revelation, would have described.

The Gospels show Jesus in perfect humanity, in ways that could not have been imagined by man

himself. The very creation of the character of Jesus defies infidelity. Here Scott seemed to be arguing

against those Deists and Unitarians, such as Thomas Jefferson, who wished to acknowledge the nobility

of Jesus without accepting His divinity or the authority and authenticity of Scriptures. Third, Jesus

quoted from the Old Testament as the Word of God. Was He deluding the people? Scott discussed over

20 such quotes by Jesus, from the time of Jesus‟ temptation to his talks with the two disciples on the

road to Emmaus. If Jesus accepted the Old Testament as Scripture and He is indeed a good, moral

example, shouldn‟t we accept the Scripture? Finally, that lives are transformed by Scripture, was

evidence of divine inspiration. The Bible had an inward testimony of truth on the human soul.

In his treatment of how the divine revelation was to be received, Scott discussed epistemology in

a way the simple farmer on the American frontier could have understood. Ultimately, the Bible was to

be received by faith, but faith was not contrary to reason. Faith was like a telescope that enabled men

and women to see more clearly than before. Pure, natural religion was impossible because of man‟s

wicked heart. Those who denied Scripture except when it accorded with their reason were not Christian.

Infidelity asserted doctrinal truth was not important, but only arrogance denied the truth of God‟s Word.

Revelation was important for true holiness, in contrast with pharisaical morality.

In summary, Scott stated that he compiled his Family Bible with four purposes in mind: to

enable the reader to store his understanding with the knowledge of divine truth; to awake and direct the

24

conscience and improve the heart; to promote comfort and truthfulness of the true Christian; and to

assist the young student of divinity.

The bibles we have been considering were often called “Family Bibles.” They were usually

quartos, sometimes folios, which were designed to be used in daily family worship. Heirs of the

Reformation recognized that the family, along with the church and the state, was the key foundation

institution of society. As historian Edmund Morgan wrote in his work The Puritan Family, “If the

family failed to teach its members properly, neither the state nor the church could be expected to

accomplish much.”42

The family was a little church, with the father as its bishop. Every morning and

evening the father was expected to lead in family worship; religion was not just a Sunday affair. In the

19th

century, numerous books were written to encourage Family Worship, and a general pattern

developed in many Protestant families of reading the Old Testament together in the morning and

chapters from the New Testament at night. Annotated bibles were especially designed with such family

worship in mind.

During the second half of the nineteenth century, American bibles continued to borrow from

those produced in England. The Polyglott Bible, the Comprehensive Commentary, the Cottage Bible,

and the Devotional Family Bible all were printed in England before America. Some American printings

included revisions by American ministers, who collated notes of stalwart commentators such as Scott,

Doddridge, Brown, and Henry. Methodist publishers often included Adam Clarke‟s notes and

commentaries, providing a more Arminian perspective from the prevailing Calvinism. Most of the

various annotated bibles were designed to assist the common reader, with the help of the Holy Spirit,

understand the Word of God, God‟s best gift to men. The elucidating notes helped the reader

understand the language, translation questions, historical background and geography of the Bible.

Information from the newest archaeological discoveries began to be included in bibles at the end of the

25

century, along with more accurate and less imaginative illustrations of places and artifacts than those in

bibles published earlier in the century.

By the end of the 19th

century, Family Bibles had become huge affairs, some weighing fifteen

pounds or more. Some had elaborately carved covers with huge metal clasps, as if they were locking a

treasure for security. They included much of the supplementary material we have already reviewed and

more, including Bible dictionaries, again authored by British scholars. Family bibles were prominently

displayed in the parlor. While in our 21st century homes we are concerned about where to build the

Entertainment Center, at the end of the 19th

century, decorative art books included patterns for tables and

lecterns on which to place the Family Bible.43

While the supplementary material in 19th

century American bibles was overwhelmingly written

by British or European scholars, there are a few distinctively American contributions which need to be

noticed. The Collateral Bible, printed in 1826, was a three volume work that printed the complete texts

of Scriptural references following each verse of Scriptural text. In this way, one could read the Bible

and read the cross-referenced Scriptures without having to leaf through to find the various passages of

Scripture. For example, Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” was

followed by the following quoted references in smaller print:

Psalm xxxiii.9, “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

Matt. viii.3. And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will, be thou

clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

John xi.43. And, when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice,

Lazarus come forth. 44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with

grave clothes; and his faces was bout about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him,

and let him go.

2 Cor. iv.6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath

shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus

Christ.

42

Edmund S. Morgan. The Puritan Family. New York: Harper and Row, 1966, 139. 43

Colleen McDannell. Christian Home in Victorian America, 1840-1900. Bloomington Indiana University Press, 1994;

American Bible, 76-88.

26

Eph. v. 14. Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,

and Christ shall give thee light.

Without human commentary, simply by quoting Scripture itself, several themes from Genesis 1:3 are

presented: the power of God to create simply by his spoken word; Jesus‟ word has the same power as

God‟s word, bringing healing and even restoring life itself; God‟s creation of light mirrors the new

spiritual creation He brings to our hearts through Jesus Christ; Christ gives us light and awakens us from

spiritual death. Reading through an entire chapter in this way deepens one‟s understanding and

appreciation of the unity of the Bible.

The Collateral Bible was a completely American production, by Presbyterians William

McCorkle and E.S. Ely, and Episcopalian G.T. Bedell. 44

Its very method followed a principle found in

many of the annotated bibles: Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture.

One of the unique and distinctive characteristics of American Christianity is the growth of

denominations. Many denominations were spawned in the religious ferment of 19th

century America.

Among those were the Disciples of Christ and the Church of Christ denominations, arising out of the

ministry of Alexander Campbell, who lived from 1788 to 1866. Campbell began his Christian ministry

as a Presbyterian, became a Baptist, and finally broke with all denominations as he sought to restore the

church to its original, first century principles. In 1828 he published his “Living Oracles” or the Sacred

Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists of Jesus Christ, commonly called the New Testament. In

America this translation sold more than any other rival to the King James Version until the revision of

1901. Campbell relied strongly on earlier translations by the British scholars George Campbell, James

MacKnight, and Philip Doddridge, though he made some changes to fit his distinctive beliefs. Most

44

The Collateral Bible, or a Key to the Holy Scriptures; in Which All the Corresponding Texts are Brought Together Into One View,

and Arranged in a Familiar and Easy Manner. By William M'Corkle, assisted by the Rev. E.S. Ely, D.D. and the Rev. G.T Bedell.

Philadelphia: Samuel Bradford; New York: E. Bliss and E. White 1826. Scriptures on the title page of this work emphasized the

importance of Scriptures: Matthew 22:29; John 5:39; Acts 17:11; I Corinthians 2:13; Luke 24:27, 32; Hab. 2:14.

27

notably, “baptism” was replaced with “immersion.” Campbell also modernized the language, removing

the “th” from the verbs, and wrote the text across the page in paragraphs, rather than in the traditional

two columns. Campbell included many of the tables included in earlier bibles published in America that

helped explain the customs, history, and geography of the Bible. Campbell himself wrote 47 pages of

“Critical Notes” and further helps. He emphasized that the Scriptures should be understood as they were

understood by the first readers, in a day when current denominational and doctrinal squabbles were not

present. Scripture must be understood by itself, without comment or tradition.45

In The Bible in America Museum Collection, an 1832 edition of Campbell‟s Testament is most

interesting because of notes and comments written in it. On the title page, next to Campbell‟s name, is

written “big head.” A sheet of paper sewn in later in the bible said Campbell left the Baptists in

Pennsylvania to escape being accused of heresy. He then united with Rigdon and Bennet, who went on

to become Mormons. Another comment, among many through the copy says, “60 pages for

Introduction and 100 pages above Appendix and addenda – 160 pages of comment in print besides a

monthly pamphlet – and constant teaching – and talk of no comment! What unblushing impudence!”

The Protestant consensus of 19th

century America was that the Bible was essential to a true

education, and several Americans published bibles especially for the use in schools. Time will not

permit a detailed discussion of the various educational settings of common schools, Sabbath schools, or

urban schools in which the Bible was used, but a brief look at the bibles themselves is useful. Hervey

Wilbur (1787-1852), a Congregational minister in Massachusetts, was a pioneer in establishing Bible

classes and probably the first in the country to compile and publish a Bible-class textbook. In 1828 he

45

Bible in English, 648; “Campbell, Alexander,” Daniel G. Reid, Robert D. Linder, Brue L. Shelley, and Harry Stout, eds. Dictionary

of Christianity in America. Downers Grove, Illinois. Intervarsity Press, 1990, 214-215; English Bible in America, 159. The Sacred

Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists of Jesus Christ, Commonly Styled the New Testaament, Translated from the Original Greek,

by George Campbell, James MacKnight and Philip Doddridge, Doctors of the Church of Scotland. With Prefaces to the Historical and

Epistolary Books, and an Appendix, containing Critical Notes and Various Translations of Difficult Passages. Second Edition.

Bethany, Brooke Co., Va.: Alexander Campbell., 1828; The New Testament. By A. Campbell. Third edition, Revised and enlarged.

Bethany, Brooke County, Va.: Alexander Campbell, 1832.

28

published his Reference Bible. Supplemental amterials covered chronological, historical, geographical,

as well as doctrinal topics:

With References and a Key Sheet of Questions, Geographical, Historical Doctrinal,

Practical, and Experimental; Accompanied with Valuable Chronological Harmonies of

both Testaments; correct and elegant Maps, and highly useful Tables of Scripture Names,

Scripture Geography, Scripture Chronology, Scripture References, &c. whole designed to

Facilitate the Acquisition of Scriptural Knowledge In Bible Classes, Sunday schools, and

Private Families.46

This indeed was a bible to be studied! Most creative and useful was Wilbur‟s sheet of lettered

questions. This was a sheet that unfolded at the back of the bible and could be left open and referred to

as the bible was read. Each bible verse was marked with a small letter which corresponded to one of the

questions on the sheet. As the student read the bible, the corresponding questions for each verse

prompted him to think more carefully about what he was reading, much like inductive Bible studies

today. Some questions Wilbur included were the following:

What ANALOGIES between sensible and spiritual things may here be traced?

What PROPHECY is here accomplished? Where is it found? How many years had it been written?

What trait of moral CHARACTER is here given? Is it morally good or evil? Does it belong to a

natural, or to a renewed state? What advantages attended it?

What EVANGELICAL EXPERIENCE or what EXHORTATION is here given?

What GEOGRAPHICAL, information is known of this country, province, city, or river, etc.?

What doctrinal TRUTH is here inculcated? Is it directly or indirectly taught? How illustrated?

How applied? What practical influence should it have?

46

The Reference Bible, Containing an Accurate Copy of the Common English Version of the Old and New Testaments: With

References and a Key Sheet of Questions, Geographical, Historical Doctrinal, Practical, and Experimental; Accompanied

with Valuable Chronological Harmonies of both Testaments; correct and elegant Maps, and highly useful Tables of Scripture

Names, Scripture Geography, Scripture Chronology, Scripture References, &c. whole designed to Facilitate the Acquisition

of Scriptural Knowledge In Bible Classes, Sunday schools, and Private Families. By Hervey Wilbur, A.M. Fourth Edition.

Boston: Published by Cummings, Hilliard & Co. and Crocker and Brewster; also by the American Sunday Sunday School

Union, Philadelphia. Power Press. J.G. Rogers & Co., 1826; The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:

Translated out of the Original Greek and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised; With References

and a Key Sheet of Questions; Historical, Doctrinal and Practical. By Hervey Wilbur. Second Edition. Stereotyped by T. H.

and C. Carter. Boston: Cummings, Hilliard & Co., 1823; “Wilbur, Hervey” Appleton’s Encyclopedia, ed. James Grant

Wilson and John Fiske. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1887-1889, vol. 6.

29

The supplemental material in Wilbur‟s Reference Bible, as with much of the supplemental material in

the quarto Family Bibles, was designed to encourage people to actually read, interact with, and

understand the Bible for themselves.

The bulk of the supplemental material added to 19th

century American bibles was

from the writings and studies of leading British and European evangelicals of previous centuries, men of

largely Puritan/Calvinistic theology as well as practical Christianity. The supplements helped the

common reader understand better the basic content of the Bible, the chronology and time of the Bible‟s

events, and the historical and geographical setting of the Bible. The material devoted to Christian

evidences helped the reader understand the origin of the Bible itself and counter the attacks on the

Bible‟s authenticity and authority made by skeptics, Unitarians, and higher critics. Americans isolated

on the frontier, far from a church or preachers, could still sit at the feet of godly pastors by reading many

of the supplements and commentaries in their bibles, often the only book they had. What they read in

their bibles shaped their outlook on life. Historian T.R. Fehrenbach‟s description of the Bible‟s

influence on 19th

century Texans is equally true of many 19th

century Americans:

The historical role of the English Bible in this Texas has increasingly been

overlooked. But the King James Version afforded this stultified civilization on the

fringes of the 19th

century Western world with a great part of the basic culture it required.

It gave the frontier farmer … a basic folklore, philosophy and literature. It was, in fact,

almost the only literature most families possessed.

The Old Testament fitted easily into the 19th

century Texas world. Its revelations of

the human condition were held, even by the nonreligious, to be entirely valid and

timelessly true. The young Texan read of evil that was ancient and ever-present,

requiring eternal discipline of man; he learned of false prophets and lying sycophants, of

licentious Jezebels and foolish kings, of mighty warriors and wise men. He absorbed an

unflattering impression of such intellectual tribes as Scribes and Pharisees. And although

few could articulate it or explain it, Texans gained a timeless portrait of man‟s world, of

the rise and fall of people, of bondage and deliverance, of God‟s patience and wrath, and

man‟s enduring inhumanity to man. Visitors were often surprised to find Texans, who

had no apparent civilization, able to strip vanities and euphoric philosophies from better-

educated men. As a cultural, folkloric instrument, the Holy Bible played its part, in a

way no official history or intellectually fabricated philosophy ever could.47

47

T.R. Fehrenbach. Lone Star. New York: American Legacy Press, 1983, c. 1968, 304.

30

Ultimately the goal in Bible reading, and the supplements beyond the Scripture or the Bible‟s

sacred pages, was a closer relationship with the God of the Bible, with the Living Word. The 19th

century American hymn “Break Thou the Bread of Life” expressed this goal and desire well. Though

often used as communion hymn today, the song was originally written in 1877 to be sung before Bible

studies at Chatauqua events. The hymn includes a prayer that was in the hearts of many Bible-reading

Americans of the 19th

century:

Beyond the sacred page

I seek Thee, Lord;

My spirit pants for Thee,

O Living Word!

Show me the truth concealed

Within Thy Word,

And in Thy book revealed

I see the Lord. 48

48

Kenneth W. Osbeck. Amazing Grace. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publication, 1990, 235.